Man nearly dies during surprise shopping trip

A surprise shopping trip for an Iowa man turned into a day he and his wife will never forget.

David and Roxanne Troutman went shopping at Homemakers so Roxanne could buy David a reclining chair for the Super Bowl.

"I got inside the doors and I got really dizzy so I just stopped," said David Troutman.

Things got worse as David started having trouble breathing and was losing color in his skin.

Roxanne did not know what to do.

"Shaking -- not knowing which way to go," said Roxanne.

A short time later, David had stopped breathing. Two shoppers and Homemakers employees stepped in to help.

A man in an ISU sweatshirt started chest compressions while nurse Stacey Bockes, still in her scrubs, was handed a portable automated external defibrillator or AED by a Homemakers worker.

"I hooked him up and we shocked him and started compressions again and he woke up and was alert. For a while there, it was scary. He was not looking good," said Bockes. "God puts you in places for a reason and I think we were all there for a reason."

Homemakers said this was the first time they have used their AED.

"It made all the difference, made all the difference in the world for this gentleman and we were prepared for it. We never had to use it before this," Darlene Klages, Homemakers Furniture manager.

Tuesday, David was resting comfortably in the hospital after surgery to insert a pacemaker.

"I'm not going to surprise him with a reclining chair ever again," said Roxanne.

The recliner that the Troutmans went to purchase is already in their living room at home waiting for David.

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